Tourism, Residents Agent Practice and Traditional Residential Landscapes at a Cultural Heritage Site: The Case Study of Hongcun Village, China

A balanced approach to tourism development and heritage sustainability can be achieved through the adaptive practices of local residents, as demonstrated in Hongcun Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China. The study reveals that residents' spatial practices, driven by their habitus and tourism capital, lead to both material (e.g., changes in residential function and courtyard structure) and non-material transformations (e.g., shifting resident-actor relationships). Residents who actively engage in protection actions tend to achieve sustainable livelihoods, contributing to a resilient cultural landscape. This finding underscores the critical role of grassroots agency in adapting living heritage to external pressures, offering a model for sustainable development at similar sites.

Zuo, D., Li, C., Lin, M., Chen, P., & Kong, X. (2022). Tourism, Residents Agent Practice and Traditional Residential Landscapes at a Cultural Heritage Site: The Case Study of Hongcun Village, China. Sustainability, 14(8), 4423. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084423